


The Photograph

by Lunammoon



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arwyn - Freeform, Arwyn was a Sage so..., Baby, Characters from my DND Campaigns, Don't worry about the death tag, F/M, Gen, Slander as a Coping Mechanism, dragons and dungeons, it's all past tense, sorry about the big SAT words, subtle reference to buzzfeed unsolved, this was originally an english project, well I mean Angst with an OK ending, you aren't fooling anyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 03:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13732494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunammoon/pseuds/Lunammoon
Summary: Behind the bar, in Eris bay tavern, there is a photograph,The photo question?A group shot an orc fighter(Ronin. Not as bad as the rest of them, but he never talked much. So for all I know, he was a huge idiot.),a half elf rogue(Owen. A kleptomaniac who was more trouble than he was worth. He would go anywhere and do anything for a chance at some pelf),a kobold sorcerer(Scilson. A complete and total idot with NO redeeming qualities whatsoever. He was possibly the world’s biggest agita on this plane of existence.)a human monk(Xan...he was...Xan.)a tiefling Wizard.(Maerlon.)And an elf healer(I was so young and full of hope.),“There were idiots. There was nothing I could do. We were in a cave getting an elixir for a king. They woke the dragon. It was natural selection. They would’ve been killed by their idiocy at some point. I hated them anyway. No skin off by back”---------------In which a cleric starts a bar after her party gets themselves killed because of someone's mistakes.





	The Photograph

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely blased on a campaign I made. So. Enjoy dudes.

Behind the bar, in Eris bay tavern, there is a photograph,

“Those are the idiots I used to adventure with. We met in a Pineneedle Tavern over in Ignus and went on a quest together”

That’s what the owner, an elf named Arwyn says to anyone who bothers to ask

The photo question? 

A group shot an orc fighter 

(Ronin. Not as bad as the rest of them, but he never talked much. So for all I know, he was a huge idiot.), 

a half elf rogue

(Owen. A kleptomaniac who was more trouble than he was worth. He would go anywhere and do anything for a chance at some quick cash),

a kobold sorcerer

(Scilson. A complete and total idiot with NO redeeming qualities whatsoever. He was possibly the world’s biggest agita on this plane of existence.)

a human monk

(Xan...he was...Xan.)

a tiefling Wizard.

(Maerlon.)

And an elven cleric

(I was so young and full of hope.), 

And if you asked about what happened to them? She’s say some variation of the same thing:

“There were idiots. There was nothing I could do. We were in a cave getting an elixir for a king. They woke the dragon. It was natural selection. They would’ve been killed by their idiocy at some point. I hated them anyway. No skin off by back”

“Then why do you keep that photograph?” a woman asks her.

Arwyn stops cleaning the counters and pauses for a second..  
“Good question.”.

~0~0~0~0~`0~

Behind the bar in Eris bay tavern, there is a photograph.

The corner of the photograph is slightly singed like someone started to burn it before stopping.

“Those are the morons I used to adventure with.” Arwyn says

The photo in question? A group shot, with 

an orc fighter (he was the the closest to competent), 

a half elf rogue (he just followed along with), 

a kobold sorcerer (the dumbest person alive), 

human monk (He was violent, but yet, he managed to summon a bit of sagacity in regards to), 

A tiefling wizard (Maerlon).

And an elven cleric (I was the voice of reason. I swear, nearly every hour I had to vituperate them for whatever dumb thing they decided to get themselves involved in,), 

And if you asked about what had happened to them? All she would say was: “They woke the dragon in a dungeon. Pace to their previous assumptions, idiots are immune to neither fire nor dragon claws”

“What happened to your photo?” a someone asks; Briseas if Arwyn remembering right...

“Meh, was going to set it on fire, but those morons don’t deserve to have the magic wasted on them.”

“But it’s singed? You had to have used some to do that much”

“Finish your drink kid.”

“I’m 17 ma’am.”

“And I’m 246, do you have a point?”

“You haven’t answered my ques-”

“Finish your food Briseas”

~0~0~0~0~0~

Behind the bar in Eris bay tavern, there is a photograph.

The corner of the photograph is slightly singed like someone started to burn it before stopping. And it’s got marks on it like water got on it before it dried on it,.

If you asked who the people in the photograph where, she would say:

“That’s the slapdash group of idiots that I adventured with decades ago.”

The photo in question? A group shot, with 

an orc fighter (I had to heal him the least...)

a half elf rogue (he used to complain about me talking rests all the time. He kept forgetting I couldn't do too much without a rest..)

a kobold sorcerer (wasn’t my fault that he always did stupid things and got himself hurt. His stupidity seemed to get us overwhelmed by monsters from that cave..)

A human monk (He would side with me, saying we all needed a rest especially)

A Tiefling monk (Maerlon)

An elven cleric (I had to heal them all so much I hardly did an fighting...)

And if you asked her how they died:

“Those morons couldn’t handle me being out of the picture for 5 minutes. In the time it took me to take a short rest. In that time, they woke the dragon.” she would say absentmindedly fidgeting with her hands under the bar..

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

On the 8th day of the 6th month, a man comes to the tavern. He has dark skin, red hair, and a large white birthmark on the side of his face. She wonders if he’s like those two men who came here looking for ghosts…

Seriously, it’s her bar, she would know if it was haunted. 

“Hail and well met. Are you, Arwyn Carismatig?” he had asks.

“That’s my name pal. What can I get you?” she had said as she polishes a glass.

“A friend of mine saw your photograph”

‘So, not a ghost hunter’, she thinks.

“Yes. What of it? Just a bunch of idiots I used to hang around with.”

“Can I see it?” the man asks urgently.

“Sure I suppose”, she said taking out the singed and stained photograph.

A group shot with 

an orc fighter 

(Ronin didn’t talk much. His actions showed that he was a rather urbane fellow), 

a half elf rogue

(Owen. He thought of himself as a faceur and a conman. Honestly, if that man could successfully con someone, they don’t deserve their money.),

a kobold sorcerer

(Scilson was a special kind of moron. He almost seemed to wake up every morning and muse over what sort of inane, dangerous, and all around moronic activities that he we could enga---)

But then the man cut her off.

“There was a monk named Xan and a wizard named Maerlon.” the man says. It is not a question.

“Why yes there were. Why do you ask?” Arwyn says, her tone expressing her annoyance at being interrupted.

The man produces parchment out of his bag. The first, handwritten broadside written in a language that she can’t read.

“Is that Infernal?” she asks.

The man nodded before taking something else out. Photographs:

A human man hugging a tiefling woman next to him.

A human man sleeping softly while a tiefling looks over him..

A human man wearing a white suit and a tiefling woman with a dress of the same color. 

A tiefling woman holding a small child with red hair and brown skin and a white birthmark on his face. While a human man smiles at the camera.

Arwyn looks at the photo. She freezes for only a second. The man points to the her photograph and his own.

“My father Xan” He says pointing at the human monk.

“My mother Maerlon” he says pointing at the tiefling wizard.

“You knew them, did you not” the man asks urgently.

Arwyn looks at the photos then back at the man.

“Sorry pal, that’s not them”

“But ma’am the photo. They look the same I, I thought you could tell me about my parents.”

“That’s not them my dude.”

“But-”

“It’s not. Trust me”

But later, when he leaves. The the bartender has the photograph in her hands. And a loud rip is heard. 

~o~o~o~o~o~

Behind the bar in Eris bay tavern, there is a photograph. Or, at least there used to be. It’s still there, but it’s harder to see. 

It’s a group photo, or at the very least, it used to be; at some point anyway. 

The faces in the photograph were ripped out and then, taped back in place.. She doesn’t say much about the figures anymore. She just says:

“Those were the adventurers I used to hang out with. They all died.”

Except for once. When a healer, and two wizards cast zone of truth. To see if she would say something different about the photograph.

And she does

Of the orc fighter she says

(Ronin. He was a pretty good friend. I...I miss him.), 

Of the half elf rogue she says

(Owen. He, was actually really nice. He. He didn’t deserve what happened to him. Not really),

Of the kobold sorcerer she says

(Scilson. He, at the very least, could be funny. When what he did didn’t affect others.)

Of the human monk she says

(Xan. He did have our backs)

Of the Tiefling Wizard she only says

(Maerlon.)

An elven cleric

(Maybe I was a little uptight sometimes. They really weren’t that bad. Maybe if I hadn’t gone to sleep. I….I miss them.), 

The spell wears off and she makes swear not to tell a soul.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Those three come back in her tavern asking her for help. The queen is sick. They have been asked to find a certain potion to heal her.

The same one that she one searched for.

It’s the same one THEY had searched for.

She agrees. Their current healer is narcoleptic and they need someone to heal them reliably. 

It’s not good for a healer to be asleep on the job.

It’s NEVER good for a healer to be asleep on the job.

So she goes with them.  
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

The dragon that killed them is still alive.

The adventurers and her fight the dragon. 

The dragon isn’t alive anymore.

But after the battle, something happens. 

Her head hurts. Bad. She mentions it to the three adventurers. She figures it’s because of the dragon’s roar.

But the two wizards don’t seem to have it.

And the young healer who just woke up doesn’t have a headache either.

But Arwyn does, and it gets bigger and bigger.

And when one of the wizards offhandedly says:  
“I wonder how you survived if your teammates were THAT bad”

It gets even bigger.

She doesn’t remember. She remembers the dragon coming out and she remembers everyone being dead. 

That’s it. Nothing more. 

She doesn't’ remember anything.

She doesn’t know how she survived.

And then it clicks. 

She doesn’t remember how she survived.

Because she didn’t.

And the second her brain realized that, her head feels like it’s split in two and she hears screaming.

The people around her move away because that screaming that she hears? It’s coming from herself.

And then. She remembers. 

She remembers being tired after a fight.

She remembers taking a short rest.

She remembers, waking up to Xan shaking her awake and telling them to run.

She remembers all of them leaving the cave in a hurry and the dragon following them.

She remembers what happened. 

She remembers an orc fighter trying to hold the dragon off with his axe

She remembers a half elf rogue trying to run, but he can’t get far. 

Not with a talon through his chest

She remembers kobold sorcerer trying to talk with the dragon. But it didn’t work well.

She remembers human monk trying to freeze dragon in place.

She remembers a tiefling wizard. Trying to stand between the healer and the fire.

And she remembers herself trying to make a barrier to keep everyone safe, 

And she remembers dying and being full of denegation about her death.

She remembers waking up. But she doesn’t remember how. 

She remembers forgetting that she was dead.

Because if she’s walking around, then how can she be dead?

She remembers the guilt and feeling that her nap killed her friends.

She remembers putting the blame on her friends “they were idiots she decides, it wasn’t her fault”

She remembers starting a bar.

She remembers telling everyone would listen about how awful but never bringing herself to say something about Maerlon.

She remembers that just because she woke up doesn’t mean she’s alive.

And when she does realize it, the taller of the two wizards look at her. 

She closes her eyes and laughs because it was so so so obvious. 

She’s been here for FAR too long.

And she laughs until her laugh can’t be heard by anyone else in the room because she is no longer there.

Where she once stood, an old photograph slowly floats to the ground..

~o~o~o~o~ 

When she opens her eyes again, she’s back at the tavern. Not her tavern. No, she wakes up at Pineneedle. 

The place where it all started. 

Where they met

And then sitting around the bar, she sees them. 

The orc fighter: (He smiles at her and points to a seat next to himself).

The half elf rogue (He laughs “took you long enough Wyn” he says passing her a glass)

The kobold sorcerer (“We’ve been waiting for you to remember. How can you remember the layout entire of an ancient temple but forget that you’ve died! And they call me stupid”)

The human monk (“You didn’t have to lie to my boy like that.” He says as he gives Arywn a glare, and then a hug..)

The tiefling wizard (Arwyn rushes to her a gives her a hug.)

The elven cleric (Is where she is supposed to be. With them.)

And then, there is a bright light, and they all disappear and the tavern is empty.

Then the tavern fades away.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive Critism and Kudos requested.


End file.
